Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We try to encourage "yes please" and "no thank you".... but no sir or ma'am.
Personally I hate being called ma'am.
I hate it too.
Kid came though my register and I was probably only 10 years older than him and he was ma'aming me left and right, I wanted to shake him and be like DUDE I'm not old enough to be called ma'am.
And I was raised with please and thank you but not ma'am and sir.
My kids will be expected to have manners but this isn't 15th century prissy frilly fakeness...sir and ma'am us a little overkill, it's not like we're all addressing the king and queen...
Manners are purely cultural and someone not raised to take off their hat in the house is no more being disrespectful than others who show the bottom of their foot to people raised to think that is bad manners.
I hate it too.
Kid came though my register and I was probably only 10 years older than him and he was ma'aming me left and right, I wanted to shake him and be like DUDE I'm not old enough to be called ma'am.
And I was raised with please and thank you but not ma'am and sir.
My kids will be expected to have manners but this isn't 15th century prissy frilly fakeness...sir and ma'am us a little overkill, it's not like we're all addressing the king and queen...
If I were you, and chose to live in an area of the country where ma'am and sir were part of the cultural norm, I'd get used to it and assimilate. Disdain for the local culture isn't the way to success. Especially, if as you have indicated in other posts, you'd eventually like to "get ahead" and possibly start your own business. Something to consider.
I hate it too.
Kid came though my register and I was probably only 10 years older than him and he was ma'aming me left and right, I wanted to shake him and be like DUDE I'm not old enough to be called ma'am.
And I was raised with please and thank you but not ma'am and sir.
My kids will be expected to have manners but this isn't 15th century prissy frilly fakeness...sir and ma'am us a little overkill, it's not like we're all addressing the king and queen...
My children say "Ma'am" and "Sir" because they have manners, not because they are fake or prissy. They respect PEOPLE not just AGE or RANK.
Ma'am and Sir is NOT about age. I call folks much younger than me Ma'am and Sir because it is the polite thing to do. Being called Ma'am does not make me feel old; it makes me feel that the person speaking is polite and well mannered and cares enough to be polite to me.
Moderator Cut
Last edited by Jaded; 07-25-2013 at 12:44 AM..
Reason: Argumentative
I bet saying SIR to a cop when you are stopped is done across the land. Don't slur the sir!
Sir and Ma'm are used in the military. A female senator who was hammering at an Army general told him to stop saying ma'm to her; that she was a US Senator. She was also ignorant of the military culture.
Ooooo my parents would have shut that down REAL QUICK! Addressing your parents by their first name is disrespectful as it is
Not always.
I have worked for my parents for 20 years and almost always call them by their first names. I run their real estate office and it is very unprofessional to call them mom and dad. I use their names so often at work that I usually call them by their names when speaking to them as well. It isn't disrespectful at all. It is just our dynamic for our situation.
Beyond that, I use "sir" and "ma'am" if I have to address some person on the street to ask them a question or something, as someone else posted above. Other than that, I am polite and respectful, but use people's names, and always did as a child as well. For adults, that was usually Mr or Mrs so and so. To me, sir and ma'am, in most circumstances, sound more mocking than polite.
Ooooo my parents would have shut that down REAL QUICK! Addressing your parents by their first name is disrespectful as it is but if she did it intentionally knowing that it irritated you oh that would have been an automatic a$$kicking in my house haha (but seriously)
I called my father by his first name almost my entire life. I think it is related to something I have noticed in some families where the mother and father call each other that when speaking to the children. For example, most mothers around here would say to a child "Where is your dad?" while some say Where is Dad?". My mother always called my father by his name when she was talking to him, so I just did the same.
Oh and I was not disrespecting my father. We just use people's names most of the time. Even my aunt and uncles are called just by their first names. Again, it is cultural. What is disrespectful in one family is the norm in another.
My children say "Ma'am" and "Sir" because they have manners, not because they are fake or prissy. They respect PEOPLE not just AGE or RANK.
Just as some of us have manners and respect without using those terms!
Last edited by Jaded; 07-25-2013 at 12:47 AM..
Reason: Removed orphaned/deleted post
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
